Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has given the automaker's new North American boss some 60 days to devise a plan that may ease off the company's hard-driving reliance on incentives and fleet sales to deliver volume.

Volvo is counting on its first model in the fast-growing premium compact SUV segment to break a lot of new ground for the automaker while it simultaneously wins customers from rivals such as the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.

Subaru reported a slide of more than 4 percent in quarterly operating profit, weighed by sales of lower-margin models and increased discounting in the United States, the Japanese automaker's biggest market.

KAR Auction Services has acquired fleet management software company Stratim. The deal will give KAR an entry into the nascent industry of providing services to ride-sharing and other transportation-as-a-service providers.

Kia hopes new technologies, a "more self-confident" design and better driving dynamics will gives its new Ceed a boost in Europe's compact car segment against rivals such as the VW Golf and Ford Focus.